Instant Pot Pork Carnitas
by Chungah
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The best Mexican pork carnitas! Juicy, fall-apart tender, and so flavorful. Made in just a fraction of the time!
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Why you’ll love instant pot pork carnitas
- Ridiculously easy. With the help of the Instant Pot, pork carnitas comes together so much faster than the stovetop and slow cooker (and tastes as if it’s been simmering for hours on end). Simply brown the meat, add your seasonings and close the lid. 30 minutes later, you have carnitas perfection.
- So tender, so crispy. You’ll have super tender, perfectly shredded, fall-apart juicy, crispy pork for the whole family to enjoy.
- Great for a large crowd. With its large serving size and minimal prep, this recipe is perfect for big parties, family gatherings and holiday get togethers.
- So many ways to serve. Carnitas can be enjoyed as tacos, quesadillas, burritos or burrito bowls, salads, enchiladas, nachos and so much more.
- Freezer-friendly. Pork carnitas is incredibly freezer-friendly, great for meal prep for busy weeknights or lazy weekends.
pork carnitas vs. pulled pork vs. al pastor
Pork carnitas
Carnitas, translating to “little meats”, is a classic Mexican dish typically made from pork shoulder, a high fat cut of meat, braised and simmered until tender enough to shred, then roasted until crispy.
Pulled pork
Pulled pork is an American barbecue dish, cooked similarly to pork carnitas, but the former is much more tender and mixed with sauce such as BBQ sauce.
Al pastor
Al pastor is also a Mexican dish but is often times made with thinly sliced pork and marinated with pineapple for its sweet flavors.
How to make Instant Pot pork carnitas
- Sear the pork. Working in batches (do not overcrowd the pan), sear the pork until a proper crust has formed all around each piece.
- Pressure cook for 30 minutes. Add everything to the Instant Pot®, pressure cooking on high for 30 minute and quick releasing when finished.
- Shred. Remove the pork and shred using two forks. If the pork is not shredding easily, add it back to the IP and cook for an additional 5 minutes. If meal prepping for the week, store or freeze as needed here (more on that below).
- Broil. For authentic, crisp-tender carnitas, broil the shredded pork on a sheet pan for a few minutes, watching carefully so they do not burn. No broiler? Crisp the shredded pork on a hot skillet instead.
- Serve. Serve warm as burrito bowls with Mexican rice, tacos with guacamole or salsa, quesadillas, nachos or enchiladas.
storage and freezing pork carnitas
Storage
Leftover carnitas can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Freezing
Portion the meat into plastic freezer bags in individual servings with some of the leftover cooking fat and liquid (to prevent it from drying out), squeezing out any excess air before sealing. Label, date and freeze up to 3 months.
Reheating
Thaw overnight in the fridge, reheating in the oven at 350°F or in a skillet (adding a splash of broth or water if the meat looks dry) until warmed through and crispy.
what to serve with instant pot pork carnitas
Instant Pot Pork Carnitas: Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe works very well with pork shoulder or pork butt due to its fat marbling (the high fat content helps keep the meat moist and flavorful) as well as its easy shredding capabilities.
The beer will help tenderize the pork but water, chicken broth or plain soda water can also be used instead.
This can happen if the pork is not cooked long enough. Place the pork back into the Instant Pot, cooking in increments of 5 minutes as needed.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Yes! Pork carnitas is incredibly freezer-friendly. Let cool completely and portion into plastic freezer bags in individual servings, squeezing out any excess air before sealing. Lay the bags flat in a single layer in the freezer (this will help them freeze quickly). Label, date and freeze up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge, reheating in the oven or stovetop in a skillet to crisp them up.
Yes! We have a recipe for that here.
Instant Pot Pork Carnitas
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 4 pound boneless pork shoulder, excess fat trimmed and cut into 3-inch chunks
- 12 ounces pilsner or lager beer
- ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Set 6-qt Instant Pot® to the high saute setting.
- Heat vegetable oil; working in two batches, add pork and cook until evenly browned, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in beer, orange juice, lime juice, garlic, oregano, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 30 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions.
- Remove pork shoulder from the Instant Pot® and shred the meat using two forks; season with salt and pepper, to taste, if needed.
- Preheat oven to broil. Place pork onto a baking sheet and broil until crisp and crusted, about 2-3 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Equipment
Notes
- Don’t skip the beer. The beer serves as a braising liquid, helping to tenderize the meat, provide moisture and add flavor.
- Add some heat. For a kick of heat, add 1 diced jalapeno or chipotle pepper in adobo sauce with a little bit of sauce for added smokiness.
- Broil for a few minutes. For that favorited crispy texture and all the flavorful brown bits, pop the shredded pork carnitas on a baking sheet in a single layer with a little bit of the pan juices, broiling until crispy.
- Mix it up. Swap out the pork for boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs.
- Freeze as needed. Divide the carnitas into meal-sized portions in freezer-safe bags, thawing overnight in the fridge for a quick and easy dinner.
Did you make this recipe?
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Amazing simple recipe. Everyone I’ve made it for loves it!
Made this a couple times now and followed the recipe exactly the first two times. Most recently I used tablespoons for the spice measurements and traded out pork shoulder for Chuck roast and it came out amazing. Either way you do it you can’t go wrong this always turns out great!
since I did not have any beer in the house nor orange juice what I did was I substituted beef broth 12 oz for the beer and I substitute lemon juice for the orange juice. Both of them worked together and the carnitas came out absolutely perfect.
I served it with diced avocado, fresh chopped cilantro, chopped tomato, and homemade Chipotle salsa.
I made fresh homemade corn tortillas while this was in the instant pot cooking away.
As they say, Magnifico!
My two teen boys LOVE this recipe! In fact, the carnitas are cooking in the IP as I type this since they are home for the Thanksgiving break…perfect lunch. Thank you for such great, easy recipes 🙂
I’ve made a fair amount of pulled pork recipes with the Instantpot and so far this is my clear favorite. The flavor is excellent and
with relatively few ingredients. I added a little paprika, onion & garlic powder and used store bought pre-squeezed OJ like
another reviewer.
The people you make this for will think it came from a restaurant, it’s seriously that authentic tasting.
So I never review anything online….too lazy. Always enjoy reading other people’s reviews. But I couldn’t not review this Instant Pot Pork Carnita recipe. SO DAMN DELICIOUS!!!!!! Best thing I’ve made in the Instant Pot and just as dang good as slow cooker pulled pork. LOVED the extra time under the broiler for crispy texture. For those of you who stress over details (like me), I had a 3.66 lb boneless Boston Butt. Cut it into a bunch of big chunks (don’t stress over the size of the chunks). Followed the recipe and cooked for 42 min. at high pressure and then let it vent for 12 minutes. Added a bunch of salt and pepper. Left the juice behind in the pot. Broiled it for about 4 minutes, stirring after 2. Served with corn tortillas, avocado, cilantro, fresh corn and salsa. The meat is so good, you don’t even need all that stuff!
If you plan to freeze the meat after you cook it, would you wait to use the broiler until you’d thawed the meat, just before serving? In other words, would you broil per the recipe and then freeze, or freeze/thaw and then broil just before eating? Thanks!
I would broil just before serving for maximum crispness! 🙂
I can’t believe how delicious this turned out. My husband and his friend had multiple servings and raved about the flavors incorporated in the recipe. Loved the fragrance and taste of the carnitas. My new favorite instapot recipe!
Rave reviews all around – we love hearing that! 🙂
I omitted the beer because I had none, only used 2 lbs of meat, but kept all the seasonings the same (except I halved the chili powder), marinaded the meat for a couple hours, and used bottled orange juice because I was lazy. Also I used olive oil instead of canola. Cooked for 40 minutes. Amazing!!!
We’re happy to hear it turned out so great!
Needed an additional 10 minutes pressure cooking to get the meat to pull apart. But was worth the wait – I crisped it under the broiler for 7 minutes and tasted amazing.
So glad you trusted your instincts and went a little longer. Sometimes a certain cut of meat may need some extra time, but we’re happy to hear this turned out so well for you! Thanks for sharing, Kate!
So good. The beer really sets the taste off. Great job!
Can this recipe be doubled? If so, do I need to make any adjustments? Thank you so much!!
Unfortunately, with Instant Pot recipes, simply doubling the ingredients and cooking time is not going to work. If only it were that easy!
You’ll first want to make sure that the doubled recipe can actually fit in your pressure cooker. From there, the general rule of thumb is to not increase the pressure cooking time. But as always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
I’ve doubled the recipe and it worked… I used pork sirloin from Costco. I always make 2 packages.
This was so delicious!! I made stir fried cauliflower rice with it tonight and quinoa last night.
Great idea!
Kay, randomly, I’m allergic to oranges. Is there something else that would make a good substitute?
You could omit the orange juice and replace the liquid with water, or, if you don’t mind a slight change in taste, you can also try apple or pomegranate juice. But as always, please use your best judgement when it comes to substitutions and modifications.
Really flavorful and the texture was A+. Instead of broiling, I threw some in a cast iron pan and crisped it up on the stovetop.
I have made these carnitas 2 times already and both times it turned out super!! It was the first recipe I tried in my new instant pot!! I substituted apple juice for the beer..
Great!
Can you specify what you mean by 3 in chunks? is it squares or slabs?
(note, my review does not reflect my thoughts on the recipe as I have yet ot make it.)
Leah, it is best to cut the 4-pound boneless pork shoulder into 3-inch chunks. Does that help?
Is that correct? Or should it be 3-inch size pieces? Thank you!
You are correct. It should be cut into 3-inch size pieces.
I think this was some of the best pork we have had! We love our instant pot and every recipe we have made from Damn Delicious has been amazing. We will definitely be adding this to our repitoire of meals. So easy and delicious on its own or in tacos.
Thank you so much, Lauren!
I made this last night and it turned out amazing! I did take the extra step of broiling it since I still had some preparations left to do for the rest of the meal and it made the carnitas even better. I didn’t really change anything major, I used Coors Light (lol it’s all I had) and the orange juice….did not have lime juice until after it was cooked but it was fine. This morning I turned some of the leftover rice and pork into pork adobo omelets (I’d been craving my favorite Filipino restaurant like MAD) and it was soooo good.
Here’s the next best part….and I thought about this after reading a comment about not wasting the juices left over after cooking- I drained my meat, saving the juice, and spooned off a lot of the fat at the top and cooked my rice in it plus a little water in the IP. I used the 1:1 water to rice ratio (using rinsed jasmine rice, 4min manual with 10min natural release). It was phenomenal, my husband isn’t a huge fan of plain rice and he definitely approved. I just opened my IP two weeks ago and have probably used it at least 10 times, I love it. Especially for rice- this girl ALWAYS makes mushy rice in a pot, it’s pathetic. This rice was intact, cooked perfectly with just the right amount of bite, and not at all mushed together in a glob.
LOVE THE RECIPES HERE 🙂
Thank you so much for your feedback Brittany! We’re glad you liked the recipe!
I’m definitely going to try your rice idea!
I’m leaving the 5 star rating for your slow-cooker version of this which I’ve made a million(ish) times and love! Question: how does this version in the Insta Pot stack up to your Slow Cooker version? I keep thinking of the “slow and low” rule of thumb for pork. Is it as tender? Thanks.
Yes, the pork is just as tender when made in the IP! I truly love both versions to be honest – it just really depends on how fast you want dinner. 🙂